Self-Worth to Net-Worth: How To Unlock Your Potential.

Self-Worth to Net-Worth: How To Unlock Your Potential.
With Tina Gering & Samia Bano

Are you a discouraged #dreamer? Think you don't have enough or know enough to make your #dreamlife a reality?

Listen now to this interview with #LifeCoach Tina Gering for guidance on how to embark on your #TransformationalJourney to #UnlockYourPotential and live a #greatlife!

Learn:

-- the relationship between self-worth and net-worth

-- strategies to shift thinking and #overcomeobstacles

-- how to set #realisticgoals to transform #bigdreams into achievable realities

-- The Seven F's of a #BalancedLife

-- And so much more!

Connect with Tina at: tinagering.com

To Book your Free HAPPINESS 101 EXPLORATION CALL with Samia, click: https://my.timetrade.com/book/JX9XJ

#LifeCoachJourney #Empowerment #LifeCoaching #FinancialFreedom #DreamBig #SelfWorth #CommunitySupport #HolisticCoaching #MindsetMatters #AchieveGreatness #FindingYourself #FaithAndFinance #FunAndEasyChange #GoalSetting #EmbraceChange #IntentionalLiving #universemagic #achievegoals #achieveyourgoals #achieveyourdreams

Here's the audio version of this episode:

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Full Video Transcript

SAMIA: Hello, Salaam, Shalom, Namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Aloha, Holah, Ciao, Bonjour, Buna, Privet, Mabuhay, and Dzień Dobry! It's so, so good to be with you again. And I know you'll be so happy you've joined us today because we have such a cool guest, and it's Tina... Actually, Coach Tina. And, Tina, please, I don't want to mess up your last name.

TINA: You're doing great.

SAMIA: You tell us your whole name and tell us more about who you are and what you do.

TINA: Right. Well, you know what? I love being called Coach Tina. It helps me step into the role, if you will. But my full name is Tina Gering. And I'm so excited about being on your show today, Samia. I appreciate that you invited me and that you're going to spend some time with me so that we can share and help your viewers with whatever it is that's going on in their world. So, for me, I was a former educator, actually started with a business career and, well, a business education anyway. But I started my career about the time that computers were becoming a thing, individual PCs and windows. And so I became a, like a corporate trainer. And I've just always been in a place where I was answering questions for people, right. So somebody didn't know how to do something, and lo and behold, I was reading those user manuals, right. Like, I was a step ahead of people. And so I naturally fit there. And then I was married to a military man, and we moved around the United States a lot. And at a certain point, I said, this isn't working. My career does not look like a career. It's just a whole bunch of mishmash. And so I became a school teacher, and my subject was math. And from that, I actually started starting schools. And that was a whole thing I wasn't expecting. But I've always been an entrepreneur, and so I step into those opportunities, right. And then the opportunity presented itself for me to help teenagers in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. And so I just stepped in and I helped them. And then that grew into a bigger school with helping more students do different things. And so I wear the heart of the teacher proudly, for sure. And then after starting my schools, I decided I was going to do something totally different with my life. And I became a real estate agent, and that just kind of opened up new doors to me and investing in real estate and kind of working on my future. And most recently, I became a life insurance agent. And that was also to, like, just really get in touch with what do people need and want and how can I help them? And then, of course, that's all tied with a bow around being a life coach, because, like, my overriding theme has always been, what's your problem and how can I help you find a solution?

SAMIA: Yes. I really appreciate the breadth of experience that you have had and that you are able to bring into your coaching work that you do. And I can,  you know, I can see how all of these experiences that you have really help you to help your people, that you're coaching in much better ways and in more holistic ways. Because not only when, when you coach them, not only are you able to help them with any, like, personal kind of change issues that they may be struggling with, but I know you also help people shore up their net worth and you know that the financial side of things that they might be struggling with. So that is really, really awesome. Yay!

TINA: Yes.

SAMIA: Yeah. Oh, gosh. So actually, tell me more... I know one of the focuses that you have with your coaching work is that you love to guide discouraged dreamers on their journey to live a great life. Tell me a little bit more about what are some of the main challenges that you see there that you love to address.

TINA: Sure. Well, you know, it started with this, this idea that as women there's several of us out there that have this big dreams, just that the desires in our heart are, like, so expansive. But yet when we sit and really look at what we're accomplishing while we're accomplishing things, we're still not hitting that mark that it, to us is like what I call my mountain moment, right. Like when you're on top of that mountain, just like, yes, I'm getting everything that I planned. And so I wanted to build a community where people could get together that had that drive within them, but really not a clue how to get there. Or it seemed like we were kind of in the mud or mire and muck and just kind of stuck.

SAMIA: Yeah. Yes... That is an all too common experience. You know, we, on this show, we are speaking to a community of change-makers. And our change makers, you know, have amazing visions of how to create change in their lives and also create change in the world, you know, and we can get stuck in the mud and, you know, the mud and all of that kind of stuff and not be sure about how do we actually get to achieve the visions and the dreams that we have. And it really matters whether we achieve our dreams or not, because not only do they impact our lives, but they impact the lives of so many other people. If we achieve our dreams, they make other people's lives better in significant ways. And so it really matters that we are able to access the help and support we need to make our dreams come true.

TINA: Yes. And being around women that have that same thinking, like, for a lot of years of my life, I just thought I was kind of crazy. You know, I wasn't like anybody else. I didn't have... I just... I've always been an achiever, and I've always been dedicated to trying to be the best version of me that I could be. And I wasn't exactly meeting the same kinds of people. But with the explosion of COVID and being able to access people from all over the world, of course, I'm very strong in the Tony Robbins world, so I'm getting exposure to the masses, if you will. And nothing makes me happier than seeing thousands of people up on the screen from all over the world that have that same... that share that same heart, that it's great to work on yourself and you want to better, and you want more, and you're not alone.

SAMIA: Yes, yes. We really do need to find those communities. The dominant culture, unfortunately, does not support that kind of thinking, that kind of drive. I think the dominant culture is designed to keep us on this path that theoretically is meant to be safe for us to stay on. But unfortunately for a lot of people, even if they're able to achieve safety in that context, they are miserable. And more and more now, though, because of the way things are changing, the world is changing… there isn't even so much safety in those traditional pathways anymore. And so it's really become more of an illusion of safety to, you know, follow those paths. And so it's like you're not even really safe anymore and you're miserable…

TINA: Exactly. When I started my coaching, when I decided to step into it, I actually had shifted a whole bunch of stuff in my life, and I was in a good place. And I read a book, which what started my whole coaching movement. And the book reminded me that I could settle and just have that good life or I could push to a life that was full of greatness. And I remember being terrified, right. Like, it was cozy, like, I wasn't working hard, everything was going great, and then I thought, but I meant for so much more. And if I don't do this, like, who's going to? Like, I don't want to be sitting on the couch 30 years from now wishing I had tried something different. And so, you know, like I said, I've kind of had this open door policy of try this or try that or see if it works for you. And to me, it's been beautiful.

SAMIA: Yes, yes, yes. You know, I think one of the challenges that I often come up with when I'm working with change-makers in my community is a perceived hurdle to achieving your dreams, to trying out new, different things that require you to take some risk and so forth... One of the perceived hurdles in that way is financial needs and not being financially secure, not being financially independent, you know, and oftentimes, you know, it's that not just that you would be risking your financial security and stability, but you have a family that is counting on you. You know, you may have kids that are counting on you, or elderly parents, etcetera, whatever the case may be. And so it becomes, you know, for a lot of people, a hurdle that they're like, oh, gosh, no, I cannot... I might take this risk if it was just about me, but I'm not willing to put my family on that risky path. And so a lot of time right there, then they feel like I cannot go forward, and the dream is put on hold, or the dream is, you know, basically going to die. So, I mean, that's one of the challenges that I'm seeing. And I know because this is an area that you help people with in terms of financial stability, financial independence factor… Can you maybe help us understand some, give us some insight on how do you begin to shift that thinking? What kind of... Yeah, let's talk about the shifting of the thinking first, and then we can talk about other things to do in that realm.

TINA: Well, you know, it's really interesting. I've always loved numbers, so I was always a student. I'm a lifelong learner now and everything, but always numbers were friendly to me. And so I took that route of numbers are good and math is good, but for every person that I meet, I'm unique in that way. There's probably ten people who are like, I hate numbers. I hate math. Anything to do with that. And so you're talking about that shift. The shift started a long, long, long time ago for most people when some, usually a traumatic experience in school or somebody said something about money that shifted them into a mindset of, I'm not good at this, or I don't deserve to have this money. I mean, one of the things that I do with people is go back and look at their money memories and, like, really, like, what's your first memory of having money. And what did that feel like? And when you start to explore those things, you really start to recognize that sometimes we're carrying baggage that isn't even ours, and it's so heavy that we can't bring it into where we are now. But I had that struggle. I mean, even though I was great with numbers, right. The money piece was really hard for me. And I remember, to me, it was a scarcity mindset. The poverty was level... You know, I just… I operated in poverty level. There was money, but I didn't feel like I could use it. I had to protect it. I always was in safe mode. And so taking risks, totally off the table. And then I was divorced after 25 years of marriage, found myself in that situation where I was like, how in the world am I going to solve this problem, right? And I looked back to what my kids had said to me, which I thought was so fascinating. So I have three of my own, and then I got remarried eventually, and my husband has six. And so we have nine adult children now, but lots of test cases to work on, right. But I remember a conversation that my son, had said to me one time, he said, "Mom, why are you poor? But dad's rich?" And this is while we were still living together, right. And it was my way that I was about money versus how his dad was, which was very free, and we have enough, and, you know, throw it all away kind of a thing. And I just… I had to lean into the fact that it was all a message that was in my head. It wasn't reality. And, you know, part of what I do when I work with people is, is we actually write the numbers down. We get real and honest, and it's not as scary when you see it on paper. And even if it is scary when you're working towards increasing it and you start to get the gains, when you start to notice that I could maybe not do this and move this around, and it starts to make a much better picture, and you don't feel so overwhelmed. And you know, a real big breakthrough I had was when I started investing in myself because that felt so foreign. I just... Until I've experienced the other side of it, I didn't know, like, a $100 thing was out there. I had to always have the discounted item on sale or not have it at all. And when I finally realized I wasn't going to live like that anymore, it opened up so much more opportunity.

SAMIA: Yes, yes. Yeah. You know, the money memories that we have and the impact that they can have on us, most of us don't realize even... It wasn't until I started working with some coaches who did similar things where, you know, we looked at our beliefs about money. We also looked at your different… how different personalities handle money, relate to money, and, you know, and to recognize that we have the power to create change in our lives, you know. So whatever our current ways of thinking are, whatever our current habits are, if they're not in alignment with how we really want to be, where we want to go, we have the power to create change in our lives. And so that has definitely been very, very life-changing for me, as well. And, you know, I love to always talk about the mindset piece first because I think people, in general, tend to discount how important it really is… because even if you have all the best strategies available to you for investing or whatever, to make more money or grow your money, etcetera, but you don't have the right mindset, it's not really going to work for you. And so I really appreciated in that context the example that you gave of yourself, you know, the contrast between when your son said, how come dad's rich and you're poor?

TINA: Yup.

SAMIA: You know... Oh, gosh. Yeah, yeah. And you just made me think about so many rich-poor people that I know…

TINA: And as we know, it's not money that buys happiness. It's all about how you're addressing what is happening in your life. And so when you attach money to happiness and your mind isn't in the right way, then you have all kinds of unproductive thoughts that don't take you to where your dreams need to take you.

SAMIA: Indeed, indeed... Yes. I could have a whole conversation with you on just the relationship between happiness and money.

TINA: Yes. Yes. I completely agree.

SAMIA: Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh…

TINA: Well, you know, another part of the mindset that's important is the worth part. So, you know, we talked about the net worth, but the self worth is just as important.

SAMIA: Yes. Tell me more about that, please…

TINA: Well, it stemmed from that conversation of recognizing that we had the same pool of money, and I was the one feeling like I didn't have it. And I actually went to counseling. This was in the middle of my divorce. In the state of Oklahoma, women can have half of the men... Like, when you're married, especially for a long period of time, you're entitled to half of the assets. Well, I was so feeling like I didn't deserve half of it that I had to go to counseling, and I kept working with her on… we have to get to the place where I feel that I'm entitled to half of what is rightly mine. And I could tell, like, logically I knew that half was good, but I couldn't, like, present to him, this is what I need to have in this divorce. And so it was so fascinating to me, you know, like, when you're an observer in your own life, when you're just, like, sitting back watching, I was like, why am I going through this kind of hardship? But, you know, you have to dig, you have to get in there, and you have to want to change for sure. Like, I can't help anybody that just wants the magic pill because, you know, if you want the tree, you have to plant the seed and you have to put the effort into what you want to have happen. But the same thing happens with your self worth. When you recognize, when you have that awareness that just like you were talking about control and of the change, you have that ability to love yourself. And that really is what fuels everything in your life. When you have self love and compassion for who you are and what you're trying to accomplish, it's beautiful life…

SAMIA: Yes, yes. You know, not feeling like you're, you know, not worthy of receiving wealth that might be coming your way... I've struggled with that as well.

I've literally, I cannot even remember how many times, I literally… somebody would be offering me money in various contexts, and I would be like, no, no, no, keep it, I don't want it or I don't need it, etcetera. And so, literally, I would be like, you know, pushing the money away.

TINA: Yeah.

SAMIA: And really, truly, a lot of it was that... I mean, there are different things going on, but it wasn't that I couldn't have used the money. It wasn't that I didn't need the money. But, yeah, there is... I think a lot of it was actually just even reflex. I realized that because, like, culturally speaking, when I was growing up, you know, basically I was moving around with my family, but it was all between India and Pakistan and a few years in the Middle East. And until I came to America, you know, things didn't change in terms of my experience with money and all of that. Because as long as I was not in America, as a girl in a relatively traditional Indian-Pakistani family, there was no expectation for me to work, to earn a living, to manage my own money, anything like that, because expectation was I would just be married. And until I was married, it was my father's responsibility, and then after that, it would be my husband's responsibility. Or if they were not in the picture for some reason, then there's brothers and there's uncle... There'd always be some men who'd be there to sort of take care of the women of the family. And so we weren't even really taught about how to manage our own money or think about making money for ourselves etcetera, you know. And so even when it, like, came to... So a lot of it was reflex, you know, like, if someone… Like, I remember after I came to America, one of my uncles who has been living here in America since the eighties, he was like, Samia, come and volunteer at my nonprofit. And so I went to volunteer at his nonprofit. And then he was like, you did such great work, here's some money for you, because you did more than some of the people I'm paying. And I was like, no, no, it's okay. I don't need it, you know, etcetera... And, you know, it was just, again, not used to handling money. Not used to thinking that, you know, like, receiving money for work that I do. It's like, you know, it's just working to help my family all the time, you know, a lot of it was even just that reflex.

TINA: Yeah. The give and receive is so very important, and you have to have both sides of it, or it just doesn't work. And one of the best examples I've heard of it. You're talking about the reflex. Well, most of us breathe without thinking, right. But there are some people who just want to give, right. And if you imagine the giving being the out breath but never taking an in breath, it doesn't work... And so you have to... And there's the opposite side, right? The people who just want to hold on to everything, hold that breath forever, you still have to let it go. It's a certain point. So you have to learn that same pattern in money and time. When you were talking about the giving and receiving, it made me think of being a mom, because you're so in giving mode. And I find that with a lot of women, we give, give, give, and then that becomes our pattern, our routine. And then as the children go up and leave, then you're starting to feel like, who am I anymore? You know, what is my purpose? You may have had lots of dreams when you were younger, but then it gets kind of squashed and mixed up, and you start attaching to other people's dreams, and it doesn't work really well for people. So that that work on yourself that you need to do to understand who you are to understand what you want. It's so key... And that's, that's what I do when I work with people. I take them where they are. I don't, you know, I recognize that every single person is different. Everybody has a different background, a different makeup, different set of thoughts that they're working through. And once we find out, like, what they're working with, then we start to address, you know, what is it that you would like to change in your life? And, you know, most people will have one thought. But like you said, that I cover the breadth of everything, because if you only work, let's just say people that want to work on their businesses, if you only work on your business, then all the other stuff starts to fall apart, you know, your fitness... And so I have a seven-F framework that I use that it just keeps us in balance. And it is fitness, but it's also finance, and it's your family. And the field is what we call it when it's your work or your business or your passion, whatever it is that you want to call what you spend the majority of your time doing. And then we have a faith component because it's so important. It doesn't matter what your faith is, but that you have, you know, that you recognize it's more than you in the world that you have to rely on others. And so we have that faith component, and then we have friends, which, again, another thing that kind of gets pushed to the wayside, especially as we're giving to everybody else. We're not taking care of our own personal needs, and so we have friends. And then my favorite is fun. So I know you do fun and easy, and I am always trying to bring in exercises or activities that we can do in our community that add that fun component, because, let's face it, it's kind of hard sometimes to do the ongoing disciplined life. And so we mix it up. We do things that are unconventional, but that make it so that you want to keep doing it. And we build habits that way. We build routines and mindset changes based on what is it that we want to do versus just sitting back and letting life happen to you.

SAMIA: Yes. I love these F's that you have with…

TINA: ..the seven F's…

SAMIA: ..you mentioned. Yes. And I especially, you know, when you said the F for faith, that's fairly uncommon in terms of when I, you work with people who are dealing with, like, financial coaches, etcetera, almost none of them will talk to you about the faith part of things. And yet you are so right Tina, that is such a critical aspect of our lives. My gosh... I mean, when we talk about making change fun and easy, I've been finding that the working on the faith aspect for myself has been one of the most critical aspects of what is allowing me to make change more fun and easy in my life. Because, like, for me, the aspect of faith that I have been working on growing for myself is, you know, the aspect of surrendering more, letting go more of whatever it is that burdens me. And, my gosh, I mean, when you let go of those burdens, to whatever extent you're able to let go of them, you know, you just feel so much lighter. And the energy that you regain once you have let go of those burdens, wow. Now you have that energy to refocus, you know, on really pushing forward to doing what you need to do and, you know, the energy and motivation to dream bigger dreams, and all of that good stuff, you know. So it's, like, such an important aspect, and I'm so happy to know that it's something that you also incorporate.

TINA: Yes. Yes, very much so.

SAMIA: Ah, nice. Okay, so. And tell me a little bit more also about the fun F. So, for example, I mean, let me think about... Could you maybe give me an example of a fun activity or something that you teach that helps your people and then, you know, we can take that into our own lives as well.

TINA: Yep. Well, actually, the beginning of this year, when we started 2024, we ran a workshop, and what I did is I made, like, a bingo sheet. Have you ever played bingo? So, you know, you have the five columns and the five rows. And I let everybody, like, we led everybody through the seven F's and different ideas and things about thinking about our entire year, and then all the blanks, all the fields were blank. And so then they got to put in what a goal of theirs was. And then we basically have been playing bingo all year, and people are letting me know that they got a row across or they did a diagonal. And it's been really fun because I didn't dictate what needed to happen in their life. That was what they were saying was important to them. But when they're reporting back and they're sharing how their bingo boards, we actually call it Fingo with the F's. And we paired them up. So I think it's... I think we, I think we paired up. I know friends and fun got put together, and I think it was family and faith. I think those... So that we had it and so they could write down on the columns, different aspects of their life. But what people are reporting to me is that it's really working for them because it's interesting, it's fun, it's different, you know, so we're playing Fingo.

SAMIA: Yes. Okay, so just so I'm making sure that I am understanding, because sometimes I get confused. I think I know what bingo is, but. So the way you would play bingo is you basically have to find other people whose input on the squares matches yours. Or how do you…

TINA: Actually, that's like a net. I mean, like an icebreaking activity that a lot of people will do. But true bingo, what used to be is it would be like column b, row one, and they would call out the number, and you would have the number on your sheet, and you would mark it, and they call out all these different numbers. And then when you got a row across or you filled in the whole board, you get prizes. And so instead of me filling in the blanks for them, this was them filling in the blanks. And we do have variations. So, like, different months, I'll do different topics. So, like, the finance month, I'll put things they need to do for finance on a Fingo board. And so people that know bingo, you can play multiple boards. So we kind of talk about the complexity, right. Like, if you want to play multiple boards, you can. But if you, If finance isn't a thing for you and your focus right now is family, then that's the one you work on. But I like to let people expand or contract as much as they want, if that makes sense. You know, I'm not a cookie-cutter. Give me a recipe... This is exactly like how my life worked is how it should work for you, because that doesn't work for me. When people try to tell me the steps, I love them dearly. I love that they did that, but I need it personalized for me.

SAMIA: Yes.

TINA: And that's the kind of coaching that I really specialize in.

SAMIA: Ah... I love it. I love it. And this idea of expanding and contracting. Oh, you know, you just made me think about an analogy one of my coaches used to give about the. She's imagine you're like a rubber band. It's a little bit like, also, when you're talking earlier about the breath, like, you can't just always be breathing out or just always be breathing in. There's a balance... It's like with a rubber band also, like, if you just keep stretching, stretching, stretching, stretching it, it will break, you know? And so you have to allow for some, you know, like stretched to a certain extent, but then contract and rest and then recover, and then you can stretch again. And when you stretch again, then you can go a little bit further than you were able to go before, but then you may need to come back and contract a little again, rest and refresh, and then contract. I mean, stretch again... So. And that is certainly definitely something that I experienced in my life, too, where in my journey of growth, I've definitely had periods of expansion and then also periods of contraction. And I used to think of the periods of contraction as, you know, like it's something bad, but now I actually really appreciate that. It's just part of the process of growth, you know, so no need to blame and judge.

TINA: Right. Well, it's just like the seasons, right. Some seasons of your life are more of the dormant seasons. It's kind of like the winter in your own life. And then, then you have that springtime that comes and then you get all the abundance that comes in the summer. And then there's a change, a transition, and the leaves start to fall and, you know, it starts all over again... And that's a beautiful way to live your life, is to just recognize that there's patterns. But, you know, where are you? Where does it fit for you?

SAMIA: Yes. Yes. I think intentionality is important, key and sort of understanding the patterns that you have and if there's an undesirable pattern. So again, it goes back to the idea of realizing and recognizing that you have the power to create change, because it's like, okay, okay, you don't like this pattern in yourself, no problem. Let's think about what you would love and how you can create that change.

TINA: Yeah, but you have to be careful too, because I think that, again, a lot of people put out something as simple as, yeah, so let's change all the habits you don't like. And then people try to do that and then they get overwhelmed and they can't keep up and it's someone else's peace. And so, you know, I really start with my people on how much time do you have? Because there's a different, there's going to be a different outcome for someone that has an extra ten minutes a day than someone that has an extra 2 hours a day. And there's nothing wrong with either of those scenarios. But if you are trying to push everything you're trying to do in two hour day into a ten-minute day, it's, you're not going to have success.

SAMIA: Right. Yes! And so the idea would be to look realistically at where you're at what you can manage with what you have and then focus on something that you can manage within, within your current circumstances. That is an excellent point. It reminds me of… this is actually one of the big mistakes actually people make in the context of goal setting. You're so right about this. That an example... This is a story one of my coaches was telling me that I learned goal setting with, and he said, okay… One of his clients was like, okay, yes, I want to get more fit. So I want to, you know, set a goal that I'm going to start every day walking or running practice so I can get more healthy. And I need to get more healthy and so I must do this. And the goal that they wanted to set was to go for daily walks. And so my coach was like, okay, well, where are you at right now? How often do you go now? Like, never, right? Do you even have a place where you can go walking if you were to decide to go walking right now? I might have to figure that out… Do you have appropriate shoe wear, to go walking in? Not really... Exactly. And so it's like, you can't… then it's not realistic if you set… if the goal is I'm going to walk every day. No, it's going to be, okay, first, let's make sure we have a good pair of shoes… by when can you get the shoes? And then, you know, identify a place where you can walk easily and enjoyably and so forth. And then, you know, maybe you can set a goal and say, okay, I'm going to go once a week because if right now it's at zero, you know, even once a week, having consistent with that, you know, it would take some effort.

TINA: So I see a lot of that. And, like, people will have these big dreams that they want to travel one day and they want to, you know, do this and do that and all these big ideas and then they're. But to them that's success. Whereas, okay, so let's apply for a passport that's kind of foreign to them, but you can't get to the trip without the means to actually travel. And so then people also don't realize how much happiness they can get out of imagining what trip they're going to go on doing the research that doesn't cost anything, and yet it still gets you to that place where. And I had one gal who told me she had the big plan and she started the research, this whole thing, and she called me not too long afterwards and she said, I'm on my vacation. She goes, I realized it didn't cost as much as I thought it was going to, but if she had never done the research, it would have always been something in the future, not a realization of how easy it was to just do it.

SAMIA: Yeah, exactly, exactly. And once you start to really look at the concrete aspects of what must happen in order for you to achieve this, that goal, then you, you know, even subconsciously, your brain begins to think in that direction of how to make it happen. I mean... And not to mention how the universe loves to support your intentions and so forth, you know, and so this things begin to happen. I mean, most recently in my life, you know this. When I said yes to being trustee for my uncle after, it was a bit of a surprise. He passed away, got sick. Passed away. And then I found out, oh, he had made me his trustee. And then I had to make a decision. Am I going to say yes to it or not? And so I decided to say yes. But once I said yes, and then I. You started to take a concrete look at, okay, what does it actually entail? And one thing at a time. One thing at a time, I was like, you know, have to work on one little thing at a time. And that's the approach I've been following, and so far, so good, you know, and the help that I need, the support that I need is just keep magically appearing. And it's just, it's just.. Yeah, they're not trying to do everything together has been really important for me in terms of how I've been able to manage things very well. And just the help that the universe provides in ways that you don't even anticipate. I love that part really, really a lot.

TINA: Yeah. And you have to believe that that's there for you. And, you know, like, even we talked about money, even when I was young, I would write down, you know, I was a good goal writer downer. And if your listeners don't know this yet, writing down your goals is one of the best things you can do. The people who write down their goals are more likely to get them. And so I would write down my monetary goal. And even when I wrote it, I would think, there's no way I'm ever going to make that amount of money. And I just kept writing it. I just kept believing that if other people had that, I could have that, too... And not only did I meet my financial goals years ago now, but I also, I had my net worth goal down, and it was going to be, you know, like. And I'm when I would look at it and I'd just be like, there is no way. But I'm going to keep believing that that is available for me.And I have met and surpassed my net worth goals from then. So it really amazes me what the universe has in store. But you have to tell the universe what you want. It's like ordering a pizza. If you go to the pizza store and you just say, give me whatever you have. You may not like anchovies and pineapple, but when you say, I want a pepperoni pizza with olives and jalapenos and green sauce or whatever it is... You get what you want. They come to you with your pizza because it's what you said you wanted. The universe will do that for you.

SAMIA: Yeah. Is there a balance to hit between how specific you get and leaving things open in terms of, you know, the vision or the goal or the dream that you have and what it ends up manifesting as?

TINA: Sure. You know, I always help people to say and this or something better, you know, because you don't know. You can't even dream as big as what is actually possible. And so, you know, what you want to do is dream as big as you can right now, but leave your opening for what's available next. Because when you get there, like in my mountain moments, right, you get to the top of the mountain, you're going to have a new view, vantage point, and you can see that maybe there's another mountain over there that you need to actually go climb. And since you can't fly, you're probably going to have to go down a little bit like we talked about and then have that harder aspect of going back up another hill. But that's how we grow... That's how we develop into who we're meant to be.

SAMIA: Yes. I love that idea of this or something better...This or something better... Because it also, like, for me, comes back to that faith piece, you know, that, like, just like you said, I even the best dream that I can have, it's from my limited perspective. And so to have more and more deeply that faith that, you know, the universe loves me, taking care of me, and has the ability and the desire to give me even more amazing things than I can dream of right now. And so to leave that door open, to be open to that, that is wonderful..

TINA: And, you know, again, like, using our kids as examples, if they were to ask you for a special gift, if you can, if it's within your means, you try to give them that or even something better than they could imagine. You know, you give them the upgraded version or the Disneyland trip with all the bells and whistles, you know what I mean? Like, and I believe the universe is like that, too... That it's, it's looking out for us and wanting us to have the very best.

SAMIA: Yes. That is such an important, you know, mindset shift and shift in my belief that I've had that. It's really changed my life to believe more and more deeply every day that the universe truly is on my side. It's a friendly universe and that I'm being continually loved and taken care of because oftentimes, you know, especially if you're just looking at things from a very logical, rational perspective, just, you know, like, a lot of research shows that depressed people are actually more accurate, generally more realistic in their assessment of things. And, like, if you ask them to make predictions, they, statistically, they're more accurate than happy people.

TINA: Right, right.

SAMIA: But that's the thing, is that in a lot of ways, the... it's like a question of either you, are you willing to accept things as they are, are you willing to let life happen to you... And, you know, a lot of the times, the realistic perspective, that's where it takes us versus having that more empowered mindset. Oh, you know, I can create change, change in my life. I can change, create change in the world around me. And so, you know, my perspective may not be very realistic.

TINA: Right.

SAMIA: But nonetheless, doesn't mean that there's something wrong with it or it's false or crazy... It's actually looking at something beyond what currently is and actually working on creating the reality that I want, that I desire. So it's a very different mindset. And I think the more you can sort of connect to that mindset from a faith in something bigger than yourself perspective, the easier it is.

TINA: Yeah, I do, too. And it's interesting you were talking about the idea of the universe having more for you and leaning into that. And I think there's a connection there to what we have within us to give to others. So, like, if the universe is ready to give us everything, then it's going to spill out, right? And so they always say, you know, you can't fill from an empty cup, so you've got to have that centeredness, that energy that comes from within. And ironically, that's the happiness or the joy. And a lot of people believe that it's the outside that's giving you the happiness. But when you can recognize that the happiness is completely within you, then it bubbles out of you, and that helps all the people around you, which, you know, I'm a big proponent of the gratitude that we have. We need to spread that out so that other people have good days and good experiences and ultimately good lives.

SAMIA: Yeah. And that's part of how the magic of the universe also works in terms of the universe sending back lots of good things to you. Because it's like when you give, you're actually opening pathways for yourself to receive also, you know, it's making it possible for you to receive more. You just have to also open yourself up to receiving.

TINA: Yes, yes.

SAMIA: Yeah. Cool, cool, cool. Okay, so I keep losing track of time because I have such amazing guests like you, Tina... I've been having so much fun talking with you. Oh, my gosh. But I think we're approaching an hour or so.

TINA: Yes.

SAMIA: So we should probably begin to wrap up. So my last reminder to you, our listener, please make sure you check the show notes because we will for sure, for sure drop Tina's links in there so you can connect with her and continue to learn with her. And until we connect next time, wishing you lots and lots of peace and joy... :)

TINA: Thank you very much.